As an actuary, Julie Wedel is an expert at a subject that many others consider to be their weakness — math. Which makes her a great player to have on a Trivia team!
Julie gets her Trivia fix by heading out to Trivia Nights at her favorite local bars and restaurants near her home in Anderson, OH.
Her Trivia Nights of choice in the Cincinnati area are Mecca in Over-The-Rhine and Anderson Pub and Grill.
When did you first fall in love with Trivia?
When I was little I always used to watch Jeopardy with my Omi and Opi. I rarely knew the answers, but that’s probably what sparked my intrigue and love for random facts.
What role does Trivia play in your life? How do you participate in Trivia?
It’s more of a social outing for me now. It’s an excuse to hang out with friends, enjoy some drinks and realize how much trivia I don’t actually know.
What are a few of your favorite Trivia questions and why?
Anything about the states or capitals (that’s a running theme you’ll see in this interview) and I love the theme rounds at Last Call Trivia shows. The theme round sometimes helps me get to an answer I don’t actually know based on the theme I see forming!
Do you have favorite or least favorite categories?
My favorite category is Math, which might be obvious given my occupation.
My least favorite category is History. I just have trouble remembering all of the specific details, especially the order of the presidents.
Who would be on your Trivia Dream Team? What would be its team name?
Brianna from Last Call Trivia, because she knows all the history questions to balance out my worst category. Our team name would be Brockman 320, in honor of our Freshman year dorm room number.
Trivia is all about connection, from camaraderie to finding unique ways to correct answers. Tell us a story about a time you or a fellow Trivia player was able to use a unique life experience to come up with an answer.
I can sing all the states in alphabetical order so anytime there’s a question about states, I break out in song!
Another state-related connection I made was with the question, “Google recently released the most Googled thing by state. What state’s most Googled thing was how to spell its own name?” I had just read an article about it, so I knew the answer was Massachusetts, but my team kept arguing that it was Mississippi. I convinced them the put down my answer by asking them all how to spell Massachusetts and no one could. Also thank goodness for spell check because I don’t know how to spell it either!
Teach us something that could make a great Trivia question.
One of my favorite random facts is about the original months of the Roman calendar. The 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th month of that calendar are September, October, November, and December which makes sense because of their prefixes but doesn’t translate in the modern day calendar.
Any parting words or book recommendations for other Trivia lovers?
I haven’t read it yet, but am about to start “But What If We’re Wrong?” By Chuck Klosterman. It’s a book written about how would we look at the world today if it was the past. It sounds like a real thinker which I think most Trivia lovers may also enjoy!